One of those who has the most reasons to celebrate this conflict, which in just two weeks threatens to turn the world economy upside down and destabilize, even more so, the Middle East, is not the one who claims to be winning. But the one who is silent.
Now I’ll tell you who is silent. But first let’s see who claims to be winning. Yesterday, in the middle of the stock market roller coaster and with oil hovering around $100 per barrel for much of Monday, Trump came out to try to calm the markets. And he said that he considers the war “almost over.”
The reasons why the US started this war remain unclear. Nor is it, therefore, what has to happen for it to end. Journalists once again tried to decipher Trump and yesterday they asked him if he says that the war in Iran is almost over, how come his Secretary of Defense says that ‘this is just the beginning.’ “I guess you could say both.”
In other words, Trump says they are winning, but not enough. Which will end soon, but it has just begun. And that there will be much peace with the war. It is the advantage of not having a clear objective, because you can stick to the one that best suits you at all times. The same for declaring war as for victory. Meanwhile, no regime change in Iran, no peace in the region, no oil supply.
So? Who is winning here? For now, Vladimir Putin. US and Israeli attacks on Iran have sent oil prices soaring. When its economy was most weakened, exhausted by Western sanctions and military spending, the US and Israel have given Putin a solution to sustain his war effort against Ukraine. The more expensive oil is, the more the Kremlin earns. Russia now boasts of being a reliable supplier of oil and gas. And the longer the war in Iran lasts, the more weapons the US will devote to the ayatollahs and less to help Ukraine defend itself. And Putin is clear about his objective.
Moral?
The price of energy rises.
Good news for Putin and his economy
